The jury at the trial of Rolf Harris has seen a video prosecutors say contradicts his assertion he could not have been at the location of one of his alleged indecent assaults.
A MONTH into his trial, the prosecution case had finished presenting its case and Rolf Harris had been on the stand for four days when the entertainer was hit with his 'gotcha' moment.
It was a piece of TV footage that didn't show any form of abuse or even directly feature a victim, but it went to the heart of the 84-year-old's credibility and in the moment it was shown in court, his fortunes were dramatically altered.
It was a turning point from which Harris' case never truly recovered.
For days on the witness stand Harris had denied that he had indecently assaulted a then 14-year-old waitress at a celebrity sports contest in Cambridge in the 1970s for no other reason than he had never done the contest.
Harris went further and said he had only ever done such a show in Florida in the US and had only been to the historic Cambridge city two years ago for the first time.
He was adamant, particularly about the latter point and mentioned it more than once, with his statements were widely reported.
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The gotcha moment ... Rolf Harris appearing in ITV's Star Games in Cambridge in 1978. Source: Supplied
It was then a member of the public tipped off authorities and they discovered not only was there such a celebrity sports event but it was a TV show called "Star Games". Footage showed not only had Harris partaken but he captained the team and did a large televised painting at the event — all of which occurred at Cambridge.
The dramatic discovery of the 1978 TV footage disrupted the trial as the jury, which did not know then of the footage discovery, had to be retired to allow legal parties to argue for their respective inclusion and exclusion.
Defence lawyers knew its inclusion would go to the heart of their client's credibility in the eyes of the jury since he was so sure on the stand of his evidence, with no-one at that point able to contradict.
Famous for the wobbleboard ... Rolf Harris has been found guilty of indecently assaulting four girls. Picture: Gaye Gerard/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
His defence on that indictment — groping the 14-year-old on the buttocks in what she thought was about 1976 — revolved about his denial of the event and city. They tried unsuccessfully to have the footage blocked from inclusion on the grounds of fairness and prejudice and said their defence would have been different if the 1978 footage was known about.
Both prosecution and defence said it was not an ideal situation for either side but Justice Nigel Sweeney agreed while the case was at a sensitive stage he accepted the prosecution's argument and allowed the footage to be shown.
Harris attempted to counter and said that he did not remember being on the program but accepted he was there but did not realise it was Cambridge and added no celebrities probably realised it was that city since they all just got bussed around the country and that was the nature of show business.
He repeatedly denied lying or tailoring his evidence to suit the evidence presented but the damage was done.
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